The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. Certain automotive internal combustion engines, diesel engines in particular, require a high airflow engine-driven cooling fan to provide a heat-removing airflow through the radiator and past the engine during high engine load, high engine temperature, conditions. Such engines may also require a supplemental heat-generating device to provide supplemental heat to the interior cabin of a vehicle. Such a supplemental heat-generating device may be necessary for internal combustion engines during periods of low ambient temperature, such as during sub-freezing temperatures, especially with diesel-powered vehicles, which may not generate a sufficient output of engine heat to satisfactorily heat the interior cabin of a vehicle. A supplemental heat-generating device may also be used to hasten the delivery of heat to a vehicle interior cabin when a vehicle engine is initially started. Without such a supplemental heat-generating device an engine may never develop enough heat to heat a vehicle cabin, or may require extended periods of time to provide such heat. While separate devices of viscous cooling fans and supplemental viscous heaters have generally proven satisfactorily for their individual purposes, each is associated with their share of limitations.
One such limitation associated with each device is the amount of space that each utilizes within a vehicle's engine compartment. A second limitation is that the current devices each require their own separate pulley on the engine accessory drive. A third limitation is that each device must be separately assembled to an engine during engine assembly. This requires valuable time which has an associated cost.
What is needed then is a device that does not suffer from the above limitations. This, in turn, will provide a device that integrates an engine cooling fan drive and a supplemental heat generating device that can reduce engine assembly time and the cost associated with producing two separate parts, and requires only one pulley on the accessory drive for both functions.